POV: You toss and turn all night, taking at least an hour to slip into sweet, sweet slumber. Meanwhile, he’s snoring with his mouth open the second his head hits the pillow. This might be the most annoying paradox on the planet, because, as it turns out, women need more sleep than men.
Why is that, you wonder?
Well, it’s a multitude of issues. According to a study in Frontiers Sleep: “Caring for others, dealing with household tasks, work and the expectations of others are all factors that are known to negatively impact women more than men, and thus affect women’s sleep patterns and sleep hygiene more than they affect men.”
Below, we dive into why women need more sleep than men.
Women are more likely to struggle with sleep disorders.
Fatigue isn’t in our heads—it’s in the research. Recent studies show that women are significantly more likely to develop insomnia than men.
“Women are more vulnerable to iron deficiency, thyroid imbalances, and fluctuations in dopamine, all key contributors to both insomnia and restless leg syndrome,” Dr. Sabrina Solt, a naturopathic medical doctor explains. “Combine with caregiving roles and constant hypervigilance, and the nervous system rarely gets the ‘all clear’ signal to fully power down.”
But that’s not all!
Women also have underdiagnosed sleep apnea because it shows up differently in women—daytime sleepiness, headaches, and feeling poorly rested versus loud snoring and gasping, according to Dr. Jen Wagner, double board-certified physician and chief health & performance officer at Canyon Ranch (she also leads the brand’s new science-backed Beat Burnout retreat).
Hormones can be sleep saboteurs.
Our sleep is deeply influenced by female sleep hormones like estrogen and progesterone, and not always in the way we’d hope.
“Hormones are like a symphony, and when key female hormones like estrogen or progesterone dip, the whole orchestra can go off key,” Dr. Solt explains.
Here’s what happens during each phase:
- Follicular phase: Estrogen rises and may help you feel more energized (aka less need for sleep).
- Luteal phase: Progesterone kicks in, making you feel sleepy but not always rested, thanks to fragmented sleep and vivid dreams.
- Menstruation: Say hello to bloating, cramps, mood swings, and poor sleep quality.
- Perimenopause + Menopause: Estrogen and progesterone plummet, often causing hot flashes, night sweats, and full-blown insomnia.
One example: “The prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea increases sharply through perimenopause,” says Dr. Wagner. “As estrogen and progesterone levels fall, the muscle tone in the throat changes, leading to increased risks of sleep disordered breathing.”
Cortisol, stress, and the invisible mental load add up.
“We process more emotional and social cues, we multitask more often, and we tend to carry the ‘mental load’ for our households, both consciously or unconsciously,” says Dr. Solt. “Add hormonal shifts to that and you have a brain that works hard around the clock. That requires rest, not just to recharge, but to recalibrate.”
Emotional labor and constant caregiving can increase stress, and that in turn, affects sleep. “This mental background noise keeps the amygdala alert and prevents full nervous system down-regulation. This turns the ‘mental load’ into ‘metabolic load’.”
She adds that women tend to stay in fight-or-flight mode longer than men, so cortisol and adrenaline levels stay elevated for longer. “Chronic stress blunts melatonin production and delays deep, restorative sleep. This results in the “tired but wired” feeling a lot of my patients report,” she explains.
So, how can women sleep better?
Dr. Solt’s tips:
- Try magnesium glycinate or threonate to calm the nervous system.
- Use red light therapy before bed to naturally lower cortisol.
- Eat a protein-rich evening meal to prevent the 2–4 a.m. cortisol crash.
- Incorporate nervine herbs (like lemon balm or passionflower) to support the parasympathetic nervous system.
Dr. Wagner’s tips:
- Stick to consistent sleep and wake times to keep your body clock steady.
- Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet for deeper rest.
- Avoid a large meal 2–3 hours before bed.
- Create a wind-down routine and avoid screens an hour before sleep.
- Skip jumping on your phone or laptop first thing in the morning to protect those final REM cycles.
“Research from UCLA and the Sleep Research Center at Loughborough University suggests women may need 20–30 minutes more sleep per night than men, due to increased cognitive demands,” says Dr. Solt. “That might not sound like much, but consistently missing that extra half hour can seriously affect memory, mood, and metabolism.”
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